Interesting Times Part 2

Contrary to whatever you may have thought, our nation’s interesting times are far from over. As it begins to seem like the worst of our days of living dangerously are drawing to a close, new ploys emerge to remind us that perhaps some of the protagonists consider this a “fight to finish”.
Akunyili and the Angry Senator
In re-constituting his cabinet, political imperatives appeared to weigh more on Acting President Goodluck Jonathan’s mind. This is mildly understandable given the complex politics surrounding his position and the unfinished work of political consolidation. Even though merit and competence may not have been completely dispensed with, political calculations are more evident. We hope however that Jonathan would now focus the ministers on delivering value to the Nigerian people. The nomination of Murtala Yar’adua, nephew of the ill older President Yar’adua and son of late General Shehu Musa Yar’adua was a politically significant entry into the cabinet; Governor Daniel in Ogun State would obviously be very uncomfortable with his former mentor, Senator Jubril Martins Kuye’s re-appointment; all of the core Yar’adua clique have been displaced with only one or two of their moderate allies making it into the new team.
Clearly the highlight of the screening of the Ministers was the intemperate haranguing of Professor Dora Akunyili by Senator Kanti (“it’s not Kanta”) Bello, the Senate Majority Whip from Katsina. The angry Senator did not have any questions of policy or national development for the ministerial nominee. His only grouse with her was that she had betrayed his cabal by turning against Turai Yar’adua, for whom according to the Senator, she previously used to cook! Thankfully Kanti Bello’s senatorial colleagues took a much more matured approach to the issue and did not turn the ministerial confirmation process into an occasion for throwing emotional brick bats! Indeed the Senate President, David Mark and his colleagues appear to have acquitted themselves as Statesmen through these difficult times.
Yar’adua and the Imams
It emerged last week that four prominent Northern (Hausa-Fulani) Islamic Clerics had visited with ailing President Umaru Yar’adua. The four-Ustaz Musa Mohammed, Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque; Dr Sheik Datti Ahmed, President of the “Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria”; Sheik Yakubu Musa, leader of the Izala Muslim Sect in Katsina; and Sheik Isa Pantami of Bauchi-claimed to have visited Yar’adua on behalf of the Muslim Community in (Northern?) Nigeria. Ustaz Mohammed thereafter announced details of the meeting to Friday worshippers at the Abuja Mosque. The Acting President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Federation are yet to see the President! Additional reports indicated that the clerics had previously presented several complaints all relating to concerns of Northern Muslims to Acting President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau. They reportedly advised Jonathan “to be sensitive in his appointments to reflect religious and ethnic balance in the country” (I wonder if they ever gave Umaru Yar’adua the same advice?) and warned the re-constituted Executive Council of the Federation against attempting to remove Yar’adua from office, threatening “serious crisis whose ramification cannot be comprehended” according to THISDAY of Sunday April 4, 2010. Anyone attempting Yar’adua’s removal would according to Ahmed be “playing with fire”! Interesting!!!
The previous Friday, word had been spread around Abuja of Yar’adua’s intention to show up at Friday Islamic prayers. The Sultan of Sokoto has also warned against the removal of Muslim Service Chiefs. Increasingly Yar’adua’s loyalists are moving their ambitions from the realms of politics, to an ethic cum regional power struggle and are now recasting it as a religious issue. Interesting? No! Very dangerous!!!
Switching Cabals
Meanwhile there have been a lot of publications inciting Nigerians against those perceived to be the strategic backbone of the Jonathan regime-Generals Obasanjo, Danjuma, Aliyu Gusau and Babangida. Suddenly the advertisers and their sponsors abhor cabals of any hue and colour. Interestingly these people did not have any problems with the Katsina mafia of Turai, Dahiru Mangal, Tanimu Yakubu, Sayaddi Abba Ruma and others when they held sway but all their democratic instincts have been aroused now that there has been a switch in cabals. Even Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, a former National Security Chief and prominent politician has joined the fray. He complains about the “pervasive influence of cliques, cabals, kitchen cabinets and what have you on constitutional government” and seems to have a grouse with Jonathan’s Presidential Advisory Council chaired by General T.Y Danjuma. Now I would rather have a proper democracy in which the will of the people, rather than “godfathers”, “cabals” and “chieftains” prevails, (and the sooner we establish that real democracy the better) but compared to the Turai cabal of third rate provincial politicians, middle-level security officers and housewives, I suspect Nigerians should be more comfortable with the new “cabal”!
Danger Signals
The bottom line is that there is a strenuous effort to transform what should have been a simple matter of a president proceeding on medical leave of absence after forwarding a letter to the National Assembly as required by section 145 of the 1999 Constitution into a simmering national crisis that seeks to re-open all our political, ethnic, regional and religious fault lines. The blame for all this is squarely that of Yar’adua and/or his advisers and handlers who blatantly refused to comply with the dictates of sections 144 and 145 of the constitution. It is not yet clear where all this will end.